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pole position

those who know me are well aware of my pitiful driving/orientation skills. here’s a flashback to earlier this year, in january…


friday the 13th, january:

5:00 – natalia leaves work to catch a 7:00 boat to catalina island from downtown long beach, 25.1 miles away;
7:00 – the last boat to catalina leaves;
7:10 – “unwashed and somewhat slightly dazed” natalia (unmindfully listening to “space oddity”) arrives at the port…


how did this happen? according to yahoo! driving directions it should have taken me 32 minutes to get there. like any typical “mineiro” — hence the saying that ‘”mineiros” do not miss the train’ (or boat, for that matter) — i left two hours prior to the scheduled departure, allowing myself more than enough time to get there, considering i was not taking the freeway, it being friday, traffic, unpredictable road work, random incidents…

the route i should have taken is highlighted in pink, with the approximate actual route taken in black:

as one can see, i decided to hit every possible location around downtown long beach (at least twice), excluding the catalina landing port. this means that (besides getting really pissed at myself and swearing to always have a ‘dry run’ for every race i do) i still have an entry to next year’s Avalon Benefit 50 Mile Race and a voucher for a round trip to catalina island from downtown long beach.

there. all that to say i intend to run my first 50-mile race next january.

{ 8 comments… add one }
  • Jessica Deline July 13, 2006, 4:44 pm

    Well I’d say you were a “little” of course 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. How cool another trail/ultra runnig chick in orange county! Yay! Also very exciting about you wanting to run SB. I’m excited for this one. I still am desite the fact you said it’s more like a 50 miler. Probably because there is something wrong with me 😉

  • Kenji July 13, 2006, 7:48 pm

    do not trust in computers

    ever

    😉

  • angie's pink fuzzy July 13, 2006, 9:24 pm

    hahahahahaha! i like the comparison of two routes.

    yay! avalon 50 miler next year, that’s very cool – many of my tucson trail running group travel out each year to do it.

    PS i believe you *may* have been my 10,000 visitor to my blog (way cool!)

  • matt July 14, 2006, 7:06 am

    this is awesome…i keep finding other newcomers to ultra running in the blog world. i saw that you have a link to Bulldog…are you running that one? i will be at that one and running my first 50-miler in october. i wish you great success in your training and i plan on popping by often to see how things are going for you. keep up the good work!

  • turnip July 14, 2006, 5:57 pm

    good luck! I am also aspiring to do ultras, but am starting with the marathon for a now…

  • Robb July 15, 2006, 2:24 pm

    Hi Ultrachick! Thanks for stopping by my blog and agreeing to the RBF Award fun.

    I love the area where you live. It’s beautiful. I even took the cheezy boat tour at Newport Beach back in 1994. I was living in Vancouver, British Columbia then. Good memories.

    Good luck with your training. You’re awesome!

  • Robb July 15, 2006, 3:33 pm

    Yeah in Van, the radio station I worked at was just above Granville Island (8th & Hemlock). That must have been you in front of me waiting in line for the world’s best falafel! Take care. Such a beautiful city.

  • Alice in Wonderbread July 16, 2006, 12:51 am

    Wow- Gnaty I knew it was only a matter of time before you did an ultra. You’re in uber good shape and I cannot wait for your race report!

    And man, I fell off my chair at your visual. Thank you. I am equally challenged at driving a straight course. I finally broke down and got a GPS, but when it was stolen I realize I had become so dependent on Yoda’s voice saying “Right you must turn.” and “Left you must bear, and the expressway you must take” that I had actually gotten worse.

    LOL still laughing at your visual. Hi-larious.

    That’s another awesome thing about road races; the course is mapped out for us!

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